By Cary Rosenbaum of the CUJ MISSION – Collaboration between departments at the CTUIR is not uncommon. But when a deadly COVID-19 pandemic is involved and a potential solution is a 700-pound lamprey freezer to store lifesaving vaccines, you’ll be hard-pressed to find such a unique situation nationwide. Its -75-degree capabilities make it ideal to hold the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine. “You…
CTUIR receives 300 doses; next round to include 55-plus with underlying symptoms By Cary Rosenbaum & Megan Van Pelt MISSION – “Didn’t even feel it,” CTUIR elder Chazz Webb said with a laugh after receiving the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine on Dec. 19. Webb was among the first 300 Tribal and community members vaccinated at Yellowhawk Tribal Health Center. His wife…
Blue Mountain Community College (BMCC) has added instruction in the Umatilla language to Winter Courses. Fred Hill, a language teacher at the Confederated Tribes Language Program, is teaching the first year Umatilla class. Previously, the only language courses offered were first year Spanish and intermediate Spanish. If they pass, students can use the Umatilla class for general elective credits. According…
By the CUJ Policies that reflect “diversity, equity and inclusion” are being added to the new management plan for the Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area. Then Columbia River Gorge Commission approved a revised management plan in October. It is the second time the plan has been updated in 29 years for the 202,000-acre national scenic area, which is shared…
By the CUJ UMATILLA – The Oregon Trail Advocates want a revised mitigation proposal for the Umatilla Chemical Depot by the Department of Army. The allocation of a 600 by 500 feet plot of land to preserve the Southern route of the Oregon Trail for lands to be transferred to the Columbia Development Authority, which the Confederated Tribes of the…
By the CUJ MISSION – A “softer” approach to restoring habitat on Meacham Creek has yielded another environmental stewardship award for the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation. This time the Meacham Creek – Bonifer Reach Restoration Project (Bonifer), which has been underway about five years, has been selected for the Society of Ecological Restoration Northwest Chapter’s “Restoration Project…
By the CUJ MISSION – The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) approved in late October a FCC 2.5 GHz spectrum channel license that allows the Confederated Tribes to operate a wireless communication system for residents of the Umatilla Indian Reservation. The wireless communications system will be housed in the “Pandemic Preparedness Building” project at Coyote Business Park South. The 10,560 square…
Yellowhawk addition to help with social distancing By Cary Rosenbaum of the CUJ MISSION – The new Yellowhawk Tribal Health Center’s pharmacy drive-thru on the Umatilla Indian Reservation is just what the community needs during times like these. With the COVID-19 pandemic risk increasing, prompting a two-week freeze by Gov. Kate Brown in November, the extra distancing will make acquisition…
By the CUJ MISSION – Modesta Minthorn, the CTUIR’s Director of Education, explained the difficulties facing tribal families with distance learning during the COVID-19 pandemic to the Board of Trustees Nov. 25. But a bright spot has been the Tribe’s After School Program for students of all grade levels. Three cohorts of 10 students are allowed to participate from the…
MISSION – Hazard mitigation has been of the utmost importance in the area since February’s Umatilla River Flood. “The river’s changing course and moving as it wants to, and (a flood) is going to happen again,” Planning Program Manager Patty Perry told the Board of Trustees (BOT) for the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation (CTUIR) in November. Perry…